Alert the media, or at least your tortured teens: Rivers Cuomo is no longer a miserable introvert.

The Weezer frontman's dramatic change in personality -- exemplified in his new Village People-ready moustache and lack of eyeglass ware -- didn't exactly make his band's concert at Xcel Energy Center better than previous shows, but it was definitely more lighthearted and fun.

A poster boy for socially awkward, introspective but still horny young men through much of the '90s, Cuomo, 38, is now married with child and even has a Harvard degree (all reasons his band has been less active of late). He's a happy rocker, and it shows on his band's new CD, its sixth overall and third to be self-titled (fans call it "the Red Album").

That joy boiled over at the X, where Cuomo did everything from knee-sliding guitar moves to your-city-is-better-than-theirs audience rousing. His growing lightheartedness actually started to show at the St. Paul arena three years ago when Weezer last played there, on tour with the Foo Fighters.

Like in that previous concert -- which drew more than twice the 6,000 or so fans who showed Friday -- the frontman let each of his bandmates sing different tunes from the Weezer catalog. It started right away when they took turns with the verses in the opener "My Name Is Jonas." Two songs later, bassist Scott Shriner perfectly led "Perfect Situation." Two more later, guitarist Brian Bell took over the doo-wop-spiked gem "Susanne."

Cuomo was so loose during the set, he let drummer Patrick Wilson sing Oasis' "What's the Story (Morning Glory)." He even let Tom DeLonge from the opening band Angels & Airwaves take over Weezer's first big hit, "Undone (The Sweater Song)," which the crowd devoured.

The group's eponymous 1994 debut is still the heaviest player in its set list, also proven by the mighty singalongs to "Say It Ain't So," and, during the encore, "Buddy Holly." The new album offered plenty of winners, too, especially the rousing "Troublemaker" and the meaty hit "Pork and Beans." The best, though, was 1996's "El Scorcho," from when Cuomo was really down and out. Go figure, it was still his musical peak.

Fans saw the exact opposite transformation from Cuomo's former Blink-182 singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge, whose new band Angels & Airwaves was the second opening band (Toronto's cutesy Tokyo Police Club went on first). Once a fun-loving, high-jinx-ready rocker, DeLonge has turned as serious as a coma, which is the state a majority of the crowd appeared to be in during his new group's 45-minute set.

There's no faulting the guy for trading Green Day for U2 as his new musical blueprint of choice. Some of it was decent if derivative, too, including the potently repetitive "Secret Crowds." DeLonge just tried way too hard to sell the impact of the band.

Fittingly dressed all in black, he struck enough dramatic rock-star poses to bring Michael Hutchence back from the dead. The low point came when he strapped on laser-shooting headgear during "Breathe" and gawkishly beamed his penetrating essence into the crowd, looking more like the Sprockets character from "Saturday Night Live" than Bono.

Now that was funny.

See Weezer's full set list at startribune.com/poplife Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658